Wedding Blog

Do you have really sensitive skin? Do you have to be super careful about which type of cleanser and moisturizer you use, or else have to deal with crazy breakouts? Yeah, me too.

Oh, Cetaphil. How I love you.

A couple of months after Mr. Taffy and I started dating, my face started to break out. Really break out, like horrible, painful, inflamed—the worst my face had ever been. I racked my brain trying to think of the cause. I didn’t switch detergent, cleanser, makeup or moisturizer. I hadn’t changed the type of birth control I was taking, or the dosage. I wasn’t stressed out any more than I had been earlier that year. My eating habits were exactly the same. The only thing that was different in my life was Mr. Taffy’s presence. Hmmm.

Then I realized that the affected areas of my face were areas that came into contact with his beard and neck. Everything was clear except my chin and neck. Interesting.

I went to a few dermatologists, took all kinds of drugs, lotions etc, and nothing worked. Nothing would stop the breakouts from happening. After six months, I went to Mr. Taffy’s dermatologist. I told him that I thought that Mr. Taffy’s beard was responsible for my problem. He thought I was nuts, and gave me drugs and lotion. I tried it for a while, and gave up when it didn’t work.

Fast-forward a few weeks. I was still seeing Mr. T’s dermatologist regularly, even though I had given up on the drugs. All of a sudden, my face started to clear up. Really clear up. I kept telling Mr. T how excited and baffled I was that it was getting better out of nowhere! It turns out that Mr. Taffy stopped using his aftershave as an experiment. His beard wasn’t the problem, it was his skincare products!

I went to my next dermatology appointment with the bottle of Mr. T’s aftershave—Jason Organics 6 in 1 aftershave lotion. My dermatologist confirmed that there were over 10 ingredients that could cause an allergic reaction and inflammation, the biggest ingredient being lavender oil. I couldn’t believe it! I was so careful about the products that I used, how could I not think that what he used would rub off onto my skin? The dermatologist even admitted that he was surprised. He said that he had lots of women coming in and complaining about their boyfriend/fiance/husband’s beards, but he didn’t think it was a big factor in their skin problems. He admitted that even with his experience (40 plus years), he continues to learn from his patients.

I was extremely frustrated that something that could have been resolved as simply as throwing out his aftershave had caused me so much pain, and that it took so long (a year!) to figure out. My chin is still covered in scars (It doesn’t help that I am really pale. I have no pigment to cover them up!). I am hoping that by the time the wedding rolls around, most of the scars will fade. It was really rough when the breakouts were at their peak; my manager at work even made comments to me about how I “really needed to take care of my skin”. My self-esteem was pretty low for a while there, I was in constant pain in the chin area, and I kept insisting to Mr. T that my face wasn’t so bad before we started dating. It was awful!

I am hoping that I can spread awareness to you, dear readers, in case there is an aftershave or lotion secretly tearing your face apart. Beware of what skincare products your fiance uses!

P.S.—Mr. T was still using the Jason Organics 6 in 1 shaving lotion, because he loves supporting organic products and we didn’t think it mattered, since he washes it off, unlike the aftershave. Well, this summer I started breaking out again, and he stopped using it. The breakouts stopped. We think that he wasn’t rinsing well enough, and the residue was causing a reaction. What a nightmare!

Have you had allergic reactions to your fiance’s skincare products?